We're having a problem with database maintenance. If we do a full vacuum, it takes down the app until it completes (which is a bit to be expected as a full vacuum locked the app out of the database). However, if we don't do a periodic full vacuum, our drive gets filled up.
The question is, is there a way to keep availability of the app 100% yet keep the database maintained without the drive filling up? Or is it just the nature of the beast that a full vacuum needs to be done periodically?
BTW- This is PostgreSQL 8.1.23 as part of RHEL 5.6.
Thanks, any tips on good practices for cron scripts doing Postgres maintenance would be great!
Phil